CARICOM | CCJ upholds finding of negligence against Barbados hotel

CCJ TRINIDAD | Port of Spain,  March 18, 2025 - In a landmark decision that underscores employers' responsibility to maintain safe working environments, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed Sandy Lane Hotel's appeal against a negligence ruling in favor of a former housekeeper injured while on duty.

The prestigious Barbados resort found itself on the losing end of a protracted legal battle on Tuesday when the CCJ delivered its reasoning for upholding lower court decisions that found the hotel had failed to provide a safe workplace for Mrs. Sonia Chase, née Eversley.

"When marble falls from above, justice must rise to meet it," remarked the Honourable Mr. Justice Burgess in his lead judgment, with which President Saunders and Justices Anderson and Ononaiwu concurred.

The case stems from a December 2010 incident when a piece of marble detached from above the doorway of Room 417 and struck Mrs. Chase while she performed her cleaning duties. The impact of both the marble and the subsequent court decision has proven costly for the luxury hotel, which has been ordered to make an interim payment of BDS $100,000 to the former employee.

In affirming the High Court's original finding of negligence, the CCJ emphasized that Sandy Lane had breached its fundamental duty to ensure workplace safety. The High Court had applied the principle of res ipsa loquitur—"the thing speaks for itself"—determining that the circumstances of the accident inherently demonstrated negligence on the hotel's part.

The CCJ clarified in its judgment that res ipsa loquitur is not a standalone legal rule but rather a reasoning process that allows courts to infer negligence from the circumstances surrounding an incident. Despite Sandy Lane's objections that this principle was not explicitly pleaded in the original case, the Court found that Mrs. Chase's claim had adequately established the factual foundation necessary to support such an inference.

In a significant procedural note, the Court reaffirmed its long-standing position that apex courts should rarely disturb concurrent factual findings—instances where both trial and appellate courts reach the same factual conclusions—except in exceptional circumstances, which were absent in this case.

CCJ President, the Honourable Mr. Justice Saunders, delivered a pointed concurring opinion, noting that Sandy Lane had failed to provide any evidence supporting its initial claim that Mrs. Chase contributed to the accident. He dismissed the hotel's assertions that it had been denied a fair trial, finding no merit in this argument.

Not all justices were in agreement, however. In a dissenting opinion, the Honourable Mr. Justice Barrow found that the evidence presented did not support a finding of negligence. He argued that since the cause of the marble falling—failure of the adhesive agent—was known, the principle of res ipsa loquitur had been misapplied. Justice Barrow would have allowed the appeal, standing alone against his colleagues' decision.

The case highlights the continuing tension between luxury tourism enterprises and workplace safety standards in the Caribbean, setting a precedent that may influence how hospitality businesses approach maintenance and safety protocols throughout the region.

Legal representation for Sandy Lane Hotel included Mrs. Marguerite Woodstock-Riley KC and Mrs. Amanda R. Riley-Jordan, while Ms. Yasmin S. Brewster and Ms. Rhea A. Cheltenham appeared for Mrs. Chase.

The full text of the CCJ judgment, including all concurring and dissenting opinions, is available on the Court's official website at www.ccj.org.